Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Sergeant, Peter F. Hahn speaks to the media seeking public’s help during a press conference at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Headquarters in Monterey Park, in finding more victims of a Bassett man Manuel C. Montes, who was arrested for child pornography and sexual assault.
Keith Birmingham — Staff photographer

Detectives arrested a Bassett man Thursday on suspicion of molesting at least three young girls and the distribution and possession of child pornography.

Detectives also fear there may be additional victims of 43-year-old Manuel C. Montes that are not yet known to authorities, Sgt. Peter Hahn of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau said.

Investigators arrested Montes on Thursday morning at a Norwalk home after linking him to child pornography, then discovered what Hahn described as a “trophy room” filled with young girls’ items such as clothes, toys and children’s books.

The illicit pornographic images also indicated that Montes personally committed sex crimes against at least three girls appearing to be between the ages of 10 and 13, the sergeant said.

“We are concerned that if he has done this in the past to these three, there may be others that he’s had access to over the years,” Hahn said. He encouraged anyone who has been a victim of a sex crime, whether at the hands of Montes or another, to come forward.

Detectives had identified and interviewed one of the alleged victims, a relative of the suspect, Hahn said. Officials believed they had located the second in Colorado and sent a deputy to meet with her. The third victim seen in the images seized from Montes was not identified.

Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau detectives first learned of Montes in January, when they received a tip via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating a person by the name of Manuel Montes had uploaded child pornography to the Internet on two separate occasions from a home in the 9900 block of Belmont Street in Bellflower, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.

Detectives learned that there was a man by that name connected to the home, and that he had previously been arrested, but never convicted, of distributing child pornography about a decade ago, Hahn said. When detectives visited the Bellflower home Tuesday, they learned the house was that of Montes’ girlfriend, and Montes had moved to Bassett a month or two prior.

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Detectives immediately went to Montes’ new home, a separate living area housed at a commercial property in the 1800 block of Workman Mill Road in the unincorporated county area of Bassett, according to investigators.

“It was evident that somebody had left just prior to our arrival,” Hahn said.

Inside the home, where Montes’ was believed to live alone, detectives noticed black threads strewn like trip wires, presumably to allow Montes to know if anyone had been in his residence, Hahn said.

“We found hundreds of images of child pornography on both hard drives and on compact discs,” Hahn said. “We confirmed that Mr. Montes did, in fact, live at that location.”

Detectives made another disturbing discovery at Montes’ home; one which the seasoned investigators said they had not seen before.

“We discovered a back room in the location that was filled with child’s paraphernalia: books, diaries, makeup — like a trophy or a treasure room.

The “trophy room” also included collages made from pictures of young girls in various states of undress, Hahn said, as well as diaries in which, “He would write out his fantasies of what he wanted to do to little girls.”

“This is one of the more bizarre cases because of the trophy room,” he said.

Detectives returned to Montes’ Workman Mill Road home Wednesday, again finding that they had apparently just missed him, officials said. They also noticed a security camera monitoring the front of the home that had not been there Tuesday.

Though the suspect remained at large Wednesday, deputies found his brother, 46-year-old Lorenzo Montes of Claremont, in the neighborhood and arrested him on suspicion of aiding and abetting Manuel Montes.

The search for Manuel Montes continued, and deputies from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau found him Thursday morning at a home in the 13000 block of Graystone Avenue in Norwalk, officials said.

“He attempted to flee out the back window,” Hahn said. But he was quickly captured by deputies.

It was not immediately clear what the relationship was between Manuel Montes and the Norwalk home where he was arrested.

Also jailed Thursday on suspicion of aiding and abetting Manuel Montes was his girlfriend, 41-year-old Stacey Marie Oropeza of Bellflower, Hahn said.

Manuel Montes was employed as a groundskeeper in Bassett, Hahn said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court records indicate Manuel Montes was convicted in July 2004 of domestic violence. He was convicted in July 2003 of possession of dangerous weapons, and in March of 1992, he was convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent.

According to county booking records, Manuel Montes was being held in lieu of $507,000 bail pending his initial court appearance, while his brother was being held in lieu of $45,000 bail and Oropeza was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

The Montes brothers were both scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Downey Superior Court, while Oropeza was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Bellflower Superior Court.

Anyone with information on the case was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273.